SYSTEMS AND METHODS TOGETHER WITH SCHEDULES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COLLECTION BY JOHN P. DAVIES, M.E. ASSOCIATE MEMBER AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS FIRST EDITION MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC. 6 BOUVERIE STREET, LONDON, E. C. 1915 PREFACE This book had its inception in a collection of "reminders," such as are commonly used in engineering offices for checking drawings and specifications. To these "reminders" were added from time to time original matter relating to engineering office routine of a kind not usually found in books, and extracts from articles in periodicals, catalogues and engineering books relating to the general subject of engineering office systems. From this beginning the present book has been developed. It is arranged to follow as nearly as possible the progress of an engineering development. Criticism may perhaps be made that such subjects as soil testing, stream gauging, domestic and export shipping, etc., do not properly belong to a discussion of engineering office systems. However, during several recent years of experience as an office engineer, the author has frequently been called upon to deal with just such matters as these, and believes that generally the office engineer is required to handle such problems. Other subjects may appear to be unduly emphasized, such as structural steel work, but this branch of engineering is so common to all undertakings of magnitude that the author felt justified in devoting considerable space to the subject. At the same time the limitations of space prevented full treatment of other material which may be of less frequent use but of no less importance to office engineers. The forms given in the text are not, of course, adapted to immediate use in all cases. They are given as suggestions only, in the hope that they may be of service in the production of forms for similar problems. Acknowledgments are gratefully made to all who have contributed to the preparation of this volume, both at first and second hand. More especially the author is under obligation to the Honolulu Iron Works Co. (Mr. D. A. Fox, Manager, New York office), for permission to reproduce many forms and methods; to Mr. O. M. Brown of the same company for criticisms and suggestions in connection with the chapters on Domestic and Export Shipping, and to Mr. A. P. Leonard of the same office for assistance in the preparation of the material relating to Electrical Engineering, etc. Acknowledgments are given in the body of the text to many sources of information which have been drawn upon. Of necessity the work was largely one of compilation, and the author wishes to acknowledge freely his indebtedness to many men for material which has been included herein. NEW YORK CITY, January, 1915. JOHN P. DAVIES. |